Eclipse missing wrong return type

[mike]

Hi,

We have the following method.

private int getOurId(Object value, Transaction c)
throws Exception {
if (value == null) {
return -1;
}
return ((MyInterface) value).getMyId(c);
}

And getMyId(c) returns an Integer object. We were expecting Eclipse to
give a compilation error, since return type is int for method, and
show the error in red within IDE. When running ant we get a
compilation error. We fixed with intValue().
The only difference we have is that we use 1.4 for ant and 1.5 in
Eclipse. Could that give such a difference?

//mike

 

[Daniel Schwering]

The only difference we have is that we use 1.4 for ant and 1.5 in

Eclipse. Could that give such a difference?

Yes, this feature is called autoboxing and new in Java 5. See
<http://download-llnw.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/autoboxing.html>

It lets you switch between primitives and their wrapper classes.

HTH,
Daniel

 

[Lew]

Attribute citations.

[mike wrote:]

Yes, this feature is called autoboxing and new in Java 5. See
<http://download-llnw.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/autoboxing.html>


It lets you switch between primitives and their wrapper classes.

Given that Java 5, never mind 1.4, is already officially obsolete and nearly
six years old, it behooves us to be aware by now that version 5 brought in
significant changes, and what they are.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history#J2SE_5.0_.28September_30.2C_2004.29>

Any time you're dealing with different language versions, be it Java, C, BASIC
or what-have-you, it behooves you to be aware of the differences.

One of the most significant differences between Java 5 and earlier versions,
quite aside from generics and annotations and autoboxing and the rest, is the
repair to the formerly broken "memory model", that is, the rules for how data
are shared between concurrent threads.

Even though Java 6 (the current, non-obsolete version that came out
three-and-a-half years ago) introduced no significant new syntax, you still
have to remain aware of differences between it and Java 5 if you're mixing
those versions.

You can use Java 5 to build Java 1.4 projects; you just have to be sure to use
the -source, -target and -bootclasspath options correctly.

Out of curiosity, why are you stuck with such obsolete Java versions? "The
customer insists" is too shallow - what is the reasoning?

 

[Mike Schilling]

Yes, this feature is called autoboxing and new in Java 5. See
<http://download-llnw.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/autoboxing.html>

It lets you switch between primitives and their wrapper classes.

Inn other words, the code you showed is a legal Java 1.5 program but not a
legal Java 1.4 program. Using a newer Java version for development than for
automated builds is a terrible idea, and you've just seen why.